Zion said to Elias “we've got the calculations for the shield array, we should be ready to pursue the away mission to close the aperture now. Let's review the procedure we'll need to undertake in order to close the aperture so we're all set on the protocol for the mission. First we'll need to enter the aperture, which shouldn't be a problem now that we have the shuttle's shields configuration setup correctly. Thanks primarily to your research. Also in great thanks to the intel department.”

Continuing to define the protocol for the mission, Zion stated “We'll need to activate the secondary deflector array to initiate a repulsive tractor beam pulse containing an initial burst of antimatter. We'll then subject the antimatter to a tachyon pulse. From that point on, the graviton pulses will reverse and will cause the collapse of the aperture into a singularity. This will revert all the discontinuities spacetime to a state of equilibrium. Finally, because of our shields, we'll maintain coherency and as the aperture closes, the shuttle will be phased out of the subspace corridor, back into normal space. We can from there, claim the mission is complete.”

After Zion finished his long debrief of the mission, he felt assured that Elias would and did already understand the mission statement, he just wanted to clarify the importance of the protocols involved. So he asked for confirmation from Elias, "Are we in the clear?" As he gestured to Elias two thumbs up, and then pat him on the back.

Elias nodded an affirmative response, “Aye, all systems functioning and in order. The new shield emitters have been installed as planned.“ Elias looked out into the windows and saw an endless space of stars and well… darkness. 

As the shuttle was traveling through the aperture to reach the designated deployment zone. Also regarded as the center of the aperture. A blip on the shuttles solar radar lit up, and it caught his attention. Zion then looked at Elias with perplexment and then back at the monitor. "Is that what I think it is? Is that a planetary body?" Zion took a closer look at the monitor, and inquired further of Elias, "There's no way there's a planet out here, right?" He then asked Elias, just to be sure "Let's run a scan on that object, to determine what it actually is, we should also travel to within visual range. It's not appropriate for us to close this aperture until we aware of what we're truly dealing with. It wouldn’t be Starfleet of us." believing Elias would agree, as he considered that Elias was also was subscribed to the Starfleet philosophy of exploration, and discovery. Without a doubt.

Elias thought and said while waving his hands over the holographic image, “Well according to the computer, that is a planetary body… weird. But the sensors are on and off with their results. It’s glitching which shouldn’t be doing, I just had it updated and fixed by my hand.” Elias was starting to get worried as events that shouldn’t be happening are starting to form. This was worrying especially since their mission was to close the aperture… or at least try to.

After the planet was thoroughly scanned, the sensor readings confirmed. The planet is there, and not there at the same time, which would also explain the strange visual phenomena that Zion and Elias were witnessing, a planet that would phase in and out of the space they cohabited. Zion inquired, "Running some further scans on the planet, Zion and Elias discovered, that the sensor readings returned a result that would resemble subspace instability of the aperture itself.

So Zion, suggested, "We should try the same techniques we used to stabilize our shields, but apply it to the planet." He then clarified, "That if we took a quantum torpedo, and then modified it to detonate with the same subspace distortion dynamics of our shield array, then we should be able to bring stability to the planet, and make it coherent to our dimensions standards. Defining the variant of the planet that exists within our dimension to become realized. We should then be able to land on the planet, and explore it. We should do the bare minimum of Starfleet's mission to explore and discover, before we close the aperture and this place becomes inaccessible to us and the rest of Starfleet in the future." Stated Zion with excitement.

Elias scrambled to scan and make possible calculations if that could work, “Zion, it might work but there is a possibility it might not work also. The quantum torpedo is of our dimension and the subspace distortions are an ever-changing variable. I do suggest exploring before trying to close or stabilize it somehow. Exploring and discovering is our mission after all. It won’t be bad if we got something to research about when we go home.”

Whilst exploring the planet, Zion and Elias came across the ruins of an ancient civilization. Zion asked the computer to scan the ruins. it looked like a familiar pattern on one of the space debris that was blown out of the aperture, the readings from the computer suggested. "Zion inferring from this, asked Elias, what do you take from that?"

Elias stated while scratching his head, “Well it sure does seem like it from the reports. The readings are somewhat inconsistent though but the computer says it does… this should prove interesting.”

The planet's coherency began to deteriorate according to the tricorder readings Elias and Zion were receiving. Zion stated to Elias, "We should head back immediately, unless we want to be shunted into nothingness."

Zion said with more alertness "According to these readings, the entire subspace aperture is deteriorating, the shields won't hold, we'll need to reconfigure them, and I don't know how long that will take, or if it's even possible."

Zion said with urgency "Unless we close the aperture soon, everything inside will revert to being incoherent, and we'll phase into nothing, at least within this dimension. Of course, you already knew that. Either way, we should get to the shuttle." Zion began running back to the shuttle as fast as he could. With Elias in toe.

Elias shouted while running, “Yeah! I think that’s a good decision, the tremors of the planet are starting.” Well, that ended the way Elias definitely didn’t expect… 

With the stability of the aperture in peril, Elias and Zion, make the decision, ultimately to close the aperture by proceeding with the plan to ignite the antimatter they ejected into the center of the aperture with the use of the tractor beams repulsive settings, and then shot it with tachyon emissions. Due to the fraction of a second delay between the aperture's instability and denotation of the antimatter, the shuttle was sent hurdling through space, before it safely arrived near starbase bravo.

Zion, to Elias, "That was one wild ride, I'll be telling that story to come, at just about every party I go to from here on out, you can be sure of that." Zion said with a smile, patting Elias on the back afterwards stating with an ear to ear grin "I am glad we met Elias, it's been fun. Let's go get a drink, and toast to our efforts well done."

Elias smiled tiredly, and said, “A future toast to our success, Zion. I’ll probably catch up on some sleep.“ Elias was tired from all the research he had done previously and let Zion take over the mission while taking care of the technicals.

And with that, one aperture closed. New friends met, and new research and work for the astrophysics department.